Google Takes Machine Learning Chip to the Cloud

Almost two years ago, Google disclosed that it had built a slab of custom silicon called the tensor processing unit to improve its StreetView software’s reading of street signs, the accuracy of its search engine algorithm, and the machine learning methods that it uses in dozens of other internet services. But the company never planned to keep its custom accelerator on the backend indefinitely. The goal had always been to hand the keys of the tensor processing unit – more commonly called the TPU – to software engineers via the cloud. On Monday, Google finally started offering its TPU chips to other companies, putting the custom silicon in more hands and its performance in front of more eyes. The tensor processing unit is equipped with four custom chips connected together to provide 180 trillion operations per second for machine learning workloads. With all that computing po...